Johnson: Because women are so underrepresented, it seems like a natural fit with the demand that we have for more STEM graduates. There are estimates in the next five years that the demand for computer science positions is going to double, and at the pace that we’re on right now — with both genders — we are not going to be able to keep up. So it just seems like a natural fit to encourage more women to go into these careers.

Q: Why don’t more women choose engineering careers?

Hockfield: Women are often motivated by service, by wanting to fix problems, by wanting to help other people. Perhaps that’s gender stereotyping. But that is what engineers do. Engineers create the solutions that make the world better for vast numbers of people.

Part of the problem for engineering in the U.S. is it is kind of invisible until you get to college. You don’t really encounter engineering. I believe you should, because rather than teaching theoretical physics, we could be teaching practical mechanical engineering and get those math and science concepts down in a really hands-on way that would be far more compelling to young people than the way we teach science and math currently.

And there are people working on engineering curricula for K-12, and I think that is a great approach.

Johnson: In fact, San Diego State is doing Project Lead the Way, in which Qualcomm has been in partnership with them. That gets pre-engineering course work in high schools, so they have heard of it. They take classes along the lines of what Susan was talking about. So when they go to choose a degree, they have some background.

Q: How early should students be introduced to STEM fields?

Johnson: We have a strong interest in the pipeline. It really starts in primary school. In fact, Sally Ride, who spoke on our campus, talked about the fourth grade. If you didn’t get the young girls by fourth grade, many times cultural and society biases sort of veer them away.

Hockfield: For me, the critical element is having some exposure — someone who understands these things, someone who loves these things — presented to them when they are young.

High school is really late. It’s late because learning math, science and engineering is a sequential process. It’s like thinking you can read “Catcher in the Rye” without phonics. If somehow you missed the code for multiplication, which I think many kids miss — they memorize things but they don’t understand what happens when you multiply — good luck with physics, good luck with calculus. Just in terms of the logic, good luck with biology.

Q: So STEM should happen even in elementary school.

Hockfield: The whole educational system should include people who are experts at math and math pedagogy.

It isn’t for everyone. I don’t believe a third-grade teacher who is just great at cajoling children to learn how to read and write is the same person who should be teaching those children math. So I think we need to inject higher quality pedagogy in math and science into the curriculum.